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Equities
Major indexes on both sides of the border fell at Tuesday’s open as recession concerns continue to weigh on global sentiment.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.36 points, or 1.26 per cent, at 18,789.5.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 194.14 points, or 0.62 per cent, at the open to 30,903.12.
The S&P 500 opened lower by 32.72 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 3,792.61, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 163.66 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 10,964.18 at the opening bell.
“Volatility remains elevated across every asset class to be sure, although a U.S. holiday [on Monday] meant a 12-hour break from the noise,” OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley said.
“What is clear is that the strategy of watching the rooster fight from the sidelines instead of getting involved remains the sensible one,” he said. “The financial markets continue to tie themselves in knots so complicated, that they would give even the saltiest mariner a headache, as they try to price in a recession no recession and its impact on asset prices.”
In the U.S. traders are now looking ahead to the release of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve on Wednesday and fresh jobs numbers on Friday. Canadian investors also get employment figures Friday morning.
The Globe’s Mark Rendell reports that Canadian consumers and businesses expect inflation to remain high for several years, adding pressure on the Bank of Canada to announce another oversized interest rate increase next week to prevent rapid consumer price growth from becoming entrenched. The central bank released its business outlook and consumer expectations surveys on Monday.
Those surveys come ahead of next week’s Bank of Canada policy announcements. Markets are expecting the central bank to hike rates by three-quarters of a percentage point after the Fed made a similar move in its last policy announcement.
On Tuesday, Canadian investors will got May building permit figures from Statistics Canada. The agency said the total value of building permits rose 2.3 per cent. Permits in the non-residential sector jumped 7 per cent while residential permits slid 0.1 per cent.
Later in the morning, the latest home sale figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver will be released. Toronto home sales numbers follow on Wednesday.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was off 1.83 per cent by afternoon. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 2.40 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 2.49 per cent and 2.41 per cent, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.03 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.10 per cent.
Commodities
Crude prices struggled in early going as recession concerns continue to weigh on sentiment.
The day range on Brent is US$112.82 to US$114.75. The range on West Texas Intermediate is US$107.25 to US$111.45.
“Although oil is trading supported on the day due to improved risk sentiment and the possible easing of U.S. trade tariffs against China, oil is still struggling to break out from its current recessionary malaise as the market pivots away from inflation to economic despair,” Stephen Innes, managing director with SPI Asset Management, said.
Meanwhile, Norwegian offshore workers began a strike Tuesday that will reduce oil and gas output.
Reuters reports that Norwegian producer Equinor has said the strike is expected to reduce oil and gas output by 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), of which gas output makes up 27,500 boepd.
In other commodities, gold prices slipped, hit by an elevated U.S. dollar.
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$1,805.20 per ounce early Tuesday morning, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.4 per cent to US$1,807.80.
Currencies
The Canadian dollar was lower alongside weaker risk sentiment in the broader markets while its U.S. counterpart touched a fresh two-decade high against a group of world currencies.
The day range on the loonie is 77.37 US cents to 77.97 US cents.
“The hawkish BoC remains an important tailwind for the CAD alongside an economy that appears more resilient than that of other major advanced countries,” Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist with Scotiabank, said.
“However, markets may trade cautiously in the days ahead as they look to the release of the Fed’s minutes tomorrow and US ISM, ADP and NFP data later in the week.”
There were no major Canadian economic reports due Tuesday.
On world markets, the U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a basket of global peers, gained 0.8 per cent to 105.98, a new two-decade high for the currency, according to figures from Reuters.
The euro, meanwhile, fell to a two-decade low against the U.S. dollar amid continued recession concerns.
The euro’s 0.8-per-cent fall on the day took the currency to its weakest since late 2002.
The Australian dollar, meanwhile, was also weaker despite that country’s central bank’s decision to raise rates for the third time in as many months.
The Australian dollar slid 0.09-per-cent lower to US$0.6820, after trading as high as US$0.6895 earlier in the day.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was down slightly at 2.882 per cent in the predawn period.
More company news
A two-week strike at Canadian National Railway Co. is ending after the union representing 750 signals and communications workers agreed to binding arbitration. Steve Martin, a spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the strike that was launched June 18 will end just after midnight. Employees will return to their roles Wednesday morning, the company said in a news release.
French music streaming platform Deezerfailed to attract much investor interest for its Paris market debut seven years after its first flotation was aborted, with its shares dropping sharply in early dealing on Tuesday. Deezer, whose larger rivals include Spotify, was down 27.15% at 0947 GMT at 6.00 euros per share, after opening at 8.50 euros.
British Airways is cancelling more flights scheduled for the summer holiday season, it said on Tuesday, at a time of widespread disruption at airports caused by staff shortages and a surge in travel demand. The airline said it would now reduce its April-October schedule by 11%, having said in May the cuts would amount to 10%.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
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